WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY

Dare to 'Dream'

Park adding Toy Story ride, starting Leibovitz campaign

Annie Leibovitz poses in front of her image featuring Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella Ñ one of three images unveiled Friday to launch Disney Parks Year of a Million Dreams. Leibovitz, wearing the 62-carat, $325,000 Harry Winston diamond tiara worn by Johansson in the photograph, was at Walt Disney World on Friday to unveil her new Disney Parks-commissioned Dreams images.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DISNEY PARKS VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRE

BY TRAVIS REEDTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.

LAKE BUENA VISTA -
Walt Disney Co. is rewiring the old carnival midway concept with Buzz Lightyear and Mr. Potatohead in a new attraction, and it is turning singer Beyonce Knowles into Alice In Wonderland in an ad campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz, executives said Friday.
The Leibovitz images also feature soccer player David Beckham as Prince Phillip from "Sleeping Beauty," Scarlett Johansson as slipperless Cinderella descending the castle steps, and a swirling teacup scene for three: Oliver Platt, the Mad Hatter, and Lyle Lovett as the March Hare joining Beyonce.
Toy Story Mania will open at Orlando's Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's California Adventure in 2008. In it, guests will don 3D glasses and ride eight to a car through different stations in a high-tech turn on old carnival games. The ring toss and darts will feature characters from Toy Story, and players will toss "virtual" rings, eggs and pies at targets using a toy cannon with a string and lever.
The announcements culminated a three-day press event for Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign, which awards unsuspecting park guests at random with prizes ranging from sheriff for a day at Frontierland to a night's stay in Cinderella's castle.
The Walt Disney Co. hopes the carnival concept of the Toy Story attraction will resonate with parents and older guests, while the video game component will draw in kids. Players will be tracked by computers that automatically raise or lower the difficulty level based on skill.
Tom Fitzgerald, senior creative executive with Walt Disney Imagineering, said the immersive game would even simulate "wind in your face, water spray, maybe even smell."
"I don't know about the eggs," he said.
The Leibovitz photos, taken in December, were the first in a series featuring additional, to-be-named celebrities. Disney intends to use them in ads for its "Dreams" contest running in magazines Vanity Fair, W, GQ, The New Yorker and others.
"Something this big is like making a small film," Leibovitz said of the images, which are both dark and whimsical.
She said it was by accident, however, the celebrities featured have been recently in the news - Beckham for signing an American soccer contract and Beyonce for her role in "Dreamgirls," which just received a leading eight Oscar nominations.
"We're over the moon about that, but there was no big plan," she said.
Disney also feted the first family to win the crown jewel of its "Dreams" contest - a night in the new luxury suite in Cinderella's castle. New families will be chosen almost daily at random from online entries and from various locations in the park.
Brad Fouch, 16, was sitting in the eighth seat, second row at Disney MGM Studios' Star Tours at 9:50 a.m. on Thursday, the exact time and spot selected through a complex set of mathematical equations.
He, his 8-year-old sister Hannah and their parents Jim and Lisa Fouch were carried to the castle in a pumpkin-shaped carriage pulled by white horses, past an extravagant scene with Cinderella characters.
"It's a lot to think about," Lisa Fouch said.
The castle is only available to contest winners. The two-bed suite was built specifically for the contest in a never-finished space originally intended as an apartment for Walt Disney and his family. Styled from the 1700s, the room features two queen beds, with modern amenities like Internet access, mirrors that turn into televisions at the push of a button and a 24-hour concierge.

LAKE BUENA VISTA -
<b>W</b>alt Disney Co. is rewiring the old carnival midway concept with Buzz Lightyear and Mr. Potatohead in a new attraction, and it is turning singer Beyonce Knowles into Alice In Wonderland in an ad campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz, executives said Friday.<BR>
The Leibovitz images also feature soccer player David Beckham as Prince Phillip from "Sleeping Beauty," Scarlett Johansson as slipperless Cinderella descending the castle steps, and a swirling teacup scene for three: Oliver Platt, the Mad Hatter, and Lyle Lovett as the March Hare joining Beyonce.<BR>
Toy Story Mania will open at Orlando's Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's California Adventure in 2008. In it, guests will don 3D glasses and ride eight to a car through different stations in a high-tech turn on old carnival games. The ring toss and darts will feature characters from Toy Story, and players will toss "virtual" rings, eggs and pies at targets using a toy cannon with a string and lever.<BR>
The announcements culminated a three-day press event for Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign, which awards unsuspecting park guests at random with prizes ranging from sheriff for a day at Frontierland to a night's stay in Cinderella's castle.<BR>
The Walt Disney Co. hopes the carnival concept of the Toy Story attraction will resonate with parents and older guests, while the video game component will draw in kids. Players will be tracked by computers that automatically raise or lower the difficulty level based on skill.<BR>
Tom Fitzgerald, senior creative executive with Walt Disney Imagineering, said the immersive game would even simulate "wind in your face, water spray, maybe even smell."<BR>
"I don't know about the eggs," he said.
The Leibovitz photos, taken in December, were the first in a series featuring additional, to-be-named celebrities. Disney intends to use them in ads for its "Dreams" contest running in magazines Vanity Fair, W, GQ, The New Yorker and others.<BR>
"Something this big is like making a small film," Leibovitz said of the images, which are both dark and whimsical.<BR>
She said it was by accident, however, the celebrities featured have been recently in the news - Beckham for signing an American soccer contract and Beyonce for her role in "Dreamgirls," which just received a leading eight Oscar nominations.<BR>
"We're over the moon about that, but there was no big plan," she said.<BR>
Disney also feted the first family to win the crown jewel of its "Dreams" contest - a night in the new luxury suite in Cinderella's castle. New families will be chosen almost daily at random from online entries and from various locations in the park.<BR>
Brad Fouch, 16, was sitting in the eighth seat, second row at Disney MGM Studios' Star Tours at 9:50 a.m. on Thursday, the exact time and spot selected through a complex set of mathematical equations.<BR>
He, his 8-year-old sister Hannah and their parents Jim and Lisa Fouch were carried to the castle in a pumpkin-shaped carriage pulled by white horses, past an extravagant scene with Cinderella characters.<BR>
"It's a lot to think about," Lisa Fouch said.<BR>
The castle is only available to contest winners. The two-bed suite was built specifically for the contest in a never-finished space originally intended as an apartment for Walt Disney and his family. Styled from the 1700s, the room features two queen beds, with modern amenities like Internet access, mirrors that turn into televisions at the push of a button and a 24-hour concierge.<BR>